


The American Dream

by Followthebeats



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2018-08-09 22:05:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7819009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Followthebeats/pseuds/Followthebeats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tess Holmes had but the American Dream in her mind: earn money, and move her family out of poverty. Her dream was to be Tony Stark, successful, brilliant, and free. Yet she never expected in her drive to become him, she would find a new American Dream, one named Steve Rogers. Through her eyes, the true war begins, the war between her mind and her heart. (Steve/OC - slow start)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Step in the Right Direction

**_Author's Note:_ ** _I've never posted anything on here and I can only hope this goes well._

**__**

**_Chapter 1: One Step In the Right Direction_**

_December 16, 2010_

As a young woman doodled on her notebook before her commute, her grandfather sat across from her grumbling about something. She didn't take too much time concentrating on it knowing it would lead to a rant. Her grandmother was busy making breakfast for everyone singing her usual songs in Spanish over the crackling radio.

Her lip twitched as she watched her beloved grandmother since her heart out over the radio. Teresa was the woman that had taught Tess everything she knew. She was named after that very woman and she was proud of it. She was a woman that took pride in her home and her and her husband tried hard to get her family what they could. As she began to yell at the boys to keep it down, Tess knew it was normal like every day.

In the madness of her home, there was nothing but noise. If it wasn't loud music it was yelling to keep things clean. There was always a mess in the house, if it wasn't from the junk that her brothers brought from their sport games, it was the junk that her grandfather brought Tess to play with. That was her favorite thing: the so-called junk.

Tess wasn't her usual nineteen year old; she enjoyed tinkering with things and her grandfather always supporter her weird cause. She was never interested in sports (she wasn't that coordinated nor had enough strength), those were the things her two brothers excelled at more than anyone out there. Her oldest brother, James was helping her grandfather at the auto shop they owned. Her middle brother Michael was attempting to get his AA in business, and as for her, she mulled over applications: job applications. Her dream school was MIT and she knew it would never pay for itself. Even with financial aid, she knew it would be impossible. Her dream was to be just like-

"Can you believe a man has so much power?!" …And there it was.

"What do you mean grandpa?" Tess asked.

"This Tony Stark man!" the old man pointed angrily at the Times magazine he held in his hand.

_Why Tony Stark Will Save the World_

Tess looked brightly at the magazine trying not to look too enthused as she grabbed it from her grandfather. While he began to rant about the so-called rich playboy, she read over his accomplishments. Sans the bad press and sleeping around, Tess hoped to be as wealthy as the man in the magazine. Despite his braggadocios attitude, she admired his brain. As he was moving away from the destructive weapons and more towards renewable energy she grew more and more interested in what he did. Her eyes scanned the page all the more. He was a famous alum of MIT, and someone she wouldn't mind working under.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes grandpa, I am" she murmured before putting the magazine down. "You're right, he's not the best influence, but you have to admit, he could do a lot of good out there. Imagine what he could do to the countries that need clean energy? I mean look at Iron Man! It'd be amazing."

"He won't do it, you know why?" the old man asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

Tess shook her head confused, but her grandfather merely smiled and grabbed her chin, to lift her head a bit more.

"Because you will do that. You hear me? You're meant for something bigger than this"

Tess smiled brightly at her grandfather. Money never came easy to the family of five; there was always enough to pay the bills and rent, but never for expenses like college or even a car. Her dream was to get them a house, a good one that they could retire and enjoy their last years. Her grandparents were forced to raise three children after their parents abandoned them, and for that reason, Tess knew she needed to one day make it all worth it, their sacrifices would have happened for a reason.

"Stop that" her grandmother swatted her husband. "You do what you want to do darling, and the rest will fix itself out" as her grandmother kissed her forehead, Tess chuckled. They only wanted the best for her. "So where are you off to today?"

"Oh!" Tess immediately showed them the paper where she had circled items. I'm planning to look into Manhattan today, so I'll be gone for a bit. Hopefully I can get into something good you know?"

"That's good, something to keep you busy"

As she nodded the dining room soon grew smaller as her larger brothers came in and began to eat. Once their food was eaten, Tess found herself waving goodbye and heading out her door.

......

She managed to look at her reflection once more through the window making sure everything looked in order. Her hair was pulled back in a bun, keeping her wavy hair in place. Her black-rimmed glasses rested perfectly on her nose as her chubby cheeks peeked under. She tried to be as professional as possible, hoping to look more professional than she was. But the truth was that she had very little experience. Other than high school, her life rested on solely her designs for tinkering and whatever she could help her grandparents on.

"Are we done looking at ourselves?" a voice said.

Jumping she turned to see her boyfriend looking amused about scaring her. She laughed before kissing him softly. Benjamin was a perfect boyfriend; that's what she told herself because there was no other words that would describe him. He was on his first year at NYU, studying criminal justice and he was determined to get himself out of Queens. They had been together since they were tweens and they had stuck it out till now. He supported her greatly, but was displeased at her not bothering to apply anywhere for college.

"You ready to head out? The subway won't wait for us"

"Right!"

Both walked side by side, him with a backpack filled with textbooks, and her with a purse that held nothing but copies of her resume and her doodle notebook. As they squished themselves into the train, they knew that they had only this moment to chat before they went on their separate ways. Tess was glad she had him in her life. He was a handsome guy; his eyes were a bright blue, and his hair was a messy jet-black hair that he desperately tried to slick back but failed miserably. He was tall and lanky, but perfectly complimented her shorter and fuller body. She could never call herself skinny; she was medium. She had medium length hair, her body was medium height, and her features as she thought were also medium. Average was all she was. She had brown hair, brown eyes, in a world full of people that shined with uniqueness. She never quite understood why he was still with her when they were better people around, but she would never say it aloud.

"My stop is coming up" he said sighing.

"Okay, be safe, don't fall in love with someone smarter than me okay?" she smiled.

His only response was to squeeze her hip and a kiss to her forehead. As they said their goodbyes, she was once more alone. She needed to get a job today; she couldn't be the only grandchild without anything going for them. She had a plan: save money, apply to MIT, graduate, and somehow in that growing up earn money to make something out of herself. How to get there was a mystery but her path had to be clear at some point right?

As her stop came, she quickly got out and tried to get herself ready before starting the long trek through the tall buildings hoping one would be hiring fresh faces. It was eight in the morning and she was determined to get something good. She knew that something good was coming her way.

_Eight hour later…_

She wanted to cry. Wasn't the saying that when one door closes another opens? Then were the hell was that open door? She had done six interviews, and in each of those, the door slammed on her. She was told she was too young, too unprepared, or too fresh to even be considered for a position. At this point fast food looked like the best option. Her feet hurt, her resumes were crinkled in her bag and she was hungry.

Wasn't there some luck out there that could come her way?! Waiting to cross the street a limousine did a quick turn, splashing the drainage water on her one clean outfit. She cried out in disgust for not only was she dirty, but her resumes were soaked to the bone. As she closed her eyes and counted to ten so her tears wouldn't rise.

"Look a bit put out there, don't you?" a voice said.

"Well, my resumes are swimming towards the drain, I guess I'd be a bit put out!" Her voice was slowly rising.

She was so pathetic and she knew it, especially since each of those copies cost her ten cents at the library. Bending down she tried to see which ones could survive with a dry under the sun.

" Oh? Looking for a particular job?"

"One that pays?" she muttered annoyed as she made a noise of disgust as a wet rat went into one of the gutters. She was about to give up but as she opened her bag she noticed that her notebook was no longer where she had left it. As she began to frantically dig her hands into the water the voice continued.

"Are those papers really that important?"

"Forget the papers I'm looking for-"

"For this?" the cheap spiral blue notebook popped into her peripheral vision and she was quick to turn.

Never in her life did she think she would see the man in front of her: Tony Stark. The billionaire playboy genius was in the flesh, and holding her notebook. He was handsome in a sort of "I-have-lots-of-money" sort of way. And as she looked at him she knew he was probably wearing Tom Ford and something that cost probably what three months worth of rent was for her family. Meanwhile her outfit consisted of what one cufflink probably cost him. It was embarrassing and mortifying, especially when she didn't even bother to fix herself.

"Let's see here" he began to read the wet resume on top. "nineteen, fresh out of high school, volunteered at animal shelters, worked at an auto shop? Interesting. And what do you expect to get from this?" He threw the paper away. "What's in the notebook that matters to you?"

"It's mine!" she cried out much like a petulant child. As he moved away from her, she didn't quite know if it was because of keeping the notebook away, or the stench that the water had left on her.

"You didn't answer my question" he waggled his finger.

"It's my possibilities book" she said embarrassed. "I write ideas, goals, just…things that keep me sane."

"Huh, cute" he shoved the notebook her way, no longer interested in it. "You know? I like you. You got spunk. Come by Stark Towers tomorrow morning. Oh, and sorry about the whole" he moved his fingers around the mess his limo had made on her.

As he turned to walk away, she stood there gobsmacked. As she hugged her possibilities book against her chest, she replayed what he read in her head.

"W-wait! Mr. Stark!" she called out rushing his direction.

As he turned around with such suaveness she stopped walking and looked anxious.

"Is this a joke? Please tell me it's not, I really need this."

He shrugged.

"We can always use a receptionist or whatever. Just come in tomorrow less….dirty and ask for Pepper Potts, she'll figure out something. She always does."

"You don't even know me! Or my name?"

"I was just going to put 'Sewage-girl' but I guess a name would be better."

"It's Tess" she said excitedly. "Tess Holmes, and I'll be there bright and early Mr. Stark, I promise"

As she looked so brightly at him, Tony stared at her briefly before nodding and walking off. There was her door. This man had opened the door for her dream without even realizing it, and she was not about to mess it up. At this moment, nothing mattered. Not the sewage water that made a squishing noise in her shoe, not the fact that she had no other clothes to wear for tomorrow that were deemed professional. All that mattered that was for a brief second Tony Stark acknowledged her and gave her a job.

She cried out in glee before actually beginning to cry. While the people of Manhattan kept to themselves and their tight schedule, an nineteen year old cried in the streets in excitement of what her life was taking her. It was such a baby step, but it would mean a paycheck that she could give her grandparents.

.......

_December 17, 2010_

Tess checked herself one more time turning around in the bright yellow dress her grandmother had given her. Her mother had left some clothes that her grandmother didn't dare throw away, and while she would have usually disapproved, Tess was now relieved. Whoever her mother was, she had some style, enough for her to have dresses that she could now wear to work.

Pushing her glasses up, she smiled at herself. Her grandparents were so proud of her for getting a job. Even her brothers had begrudgingly praised her before getting back to video games. This was one step before being the success she knew she was destined to be.

"Mija, you're going to be late!" Her grandmother warned.

"Right!" Tess squeaked before kissing her grandmother's cheek before rushing off to meet Benjamin.

.......

"So you have no clue what you're doing?"

In the usual routine, Benjamin and Tess held on to their dear lives on the train as it filled with people. She knew that he had every right to be skeptical, but she didn't want him to ruin this for her. This was her opportunity to maybe have a stable income and one day she could show Mr. Stark and invention she had successfully built. _'Baby steps, Tess'_ she chastised herself.

"No, but Miss Potts will be helping me figure that out" she replied giddy.

"Baby….it could be anything" he said uncomfortable. " You know? He's a playboy and all and well…"

"Don't say that!" she interrupted him, her cheeks flushing. "He promised me something but not _that._ I would _never_ do that"

"Don't I know it" he muttered to himself before earning a swat from her.

His frustration in her fear of intimacy had sprung that unwarranted comment and it was mortifying for her to hear. She knew that she had to eventually…but maybe not so soon? He knew he was frustrated but she would never just do that no matter how long they were together.

"I'm sorry-" he began.

"This is your stop" she replied frustrated herself.

He didn't even bother to kiss her goodbye and she didn't bother to say anything about it. This wasn't a day to mess up, instead she wrapped her winter coat tighter around her as she waited for her own stop to come up.

_…_  


The building was even more beautiful up close. She tried not to be too obvious to her shortcomings, but this was astounding. Even walking in the building was fabulous with all the lights and modernist designs. She held her binder close as her satchel hung carelessly on her side. Her admiration was cut short.

"May we help you?" a security guard said.

She jumped slightly and felt her cheeks flush at her missteps. Gripping the notebook tighter against her chest, she cleared her throat.

"Yes, I'm looking for a Miss Pepper Potts?"

"Name"

"O-oh, Tess Holmes sir"

"You're not on the list" he was quick to reply.

"B-but Mr. Stark hired me yesterday" her voice showed her nervousness, "h-he said he would put me on the list and Miss Potts would take care of the rest!"

The desperation in her voice was clear, and she tried not to wince at hearing it, but she needed this job and bad. For a brief second she wondered if this was all a prank by Mr. Stark, just making fun of a kid trying to grow up.

"You're not on the list kid, maybe another time" he waved her off.

Before he could even walk away, she found herself growing a spine and take the iPad from him. He protested but she scrolled hoping to find something that had some relation to her. Nothing.

"I know I'm hired. He promised me" she said louder, "I demand to speak to Miss Potts, because I did not do this commute just to be dismissed!"

Before she made a scene, a glamorous Tony Stark strolled into his building with a strawberry blonde beside him. She was clearly telling him things and he was listening half heartedly as they headed towards the secure area.

"Mr. Stark!" Tess yelled.

"No autographs, sorry kid"

"Mr. Stark it's me!" she rushed over much to the protests of the security guard. She never deemed herself as a running, but there she was in her boots hoping to catch the elusive man who promised her a job.

"You?" he took of his glasses and lifted his brow curiously. "And you are…"

"Mr. Stark, you hired me yesterday" she said her shoulders sagging, and her eyes dimming at his dismissive attitude. "You told me that I had to come in this morning to talk to a Miss Potts about what I could do! I-I'm here" her voice softened.

"You hired her?" Pepper Potts said curiously. "And you don't remember her?"

"You're sewer girl right?" he said suddenly. "Oh yes, she's hired, just…forget to tell you I guess. Take care of her okay? Figure out what she can do, and those reports….they can wait…till next year"

Before Pepper could protest Tony was off doing whatever he did. Pepper sighed before turning over to look at Tess who looked so grateful for this moment. The girl was young, that was the first thought that Pepper had before taking all of her in. She had to admit that the girl was not a usual hire from Tony and she genuinely wanted to work.

"Okay, shoot: what kind of experience do you have?"


	2. Bunny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I never followed up, but it seems I was too nervous to post in a new platform and not FF.net.

**_The American Dream_ **

**_Chapter 2: Bunny_ **

_December 26, 2010_

When she imagined working for Tony Stark, this wasn't quite what she had in mind. She wasn't given the title of 'personal assistant' because it seemed too early to be called that. She was merely a gatekeeper. She documented who went in with Mr. Stark and who came out, and with what. If she wasn't so into tabloid magazines, she would have been appalled at how many models Tony slept with.

Today was her anniversary and she had been forced to stay under for the graveyard shift as someone had plans. It didn't matter if  _she_  had plans because, the other had seniority. Benjamin had been furious over the fact that she had to cancel their usual plans of movie and dinner over her job. But no matter how shitty her job was, it paid the bills. And more importantly allowed her to study. Since MIT was a bit far from her at the moment, Miss Potts had mentioned that she should do online classes to get something in the meantime.

Miss Potts was a gem; her no nonsense attitude reminded Tess of her grandmother. She was beautiful, intelligent, and graceful and everything that Tess wanted to be when she grew up. More importantly, Miss Potts heard her stories; she knew how much Tess needed her job and how much it meant to be employed. Pepper knew her background and her heart of gold had decided to fund some sort of education for her. At the moment, Tess knew that her choices were limited; but more importantly, it allowed her to have something that she enjoyed. Her grandfather had always had a love for World War II, thus inspiring a joy for history. As she began her classes, she figured she was young enough to try a bit of everything. Thus her humanities major began with no money out of pocket. These were some benefits that she couldn't help but be relieved over.

Mulling over the answer for her quiz, her thought process was interrupted by high-pitched giggling. As the elevator doors swung open, she already knew what was coming out of it. Tony sauntered to the doors of the next elevators with two beautiful models in each arm. It astounded her how they allowed themselves to be part of this game, and more importantly how Tony didn't get tired of it.

As they began to just compliment him, Tess pretended not to listen, instead tried to remember what was the name of the general in charge of ground soldiers during the Normandy invasion.

"Oh Bunny?"

Tess winced knowing that he was calling her over. He tended to throw nicknames her way in part because it annoyed her, and another because it amused him. Bunny sprung from the way her nose crinkled when she was annoyed, or working very hard. The moment he had said it aloud, she reacted, and in that moment she knew it had stuck.

"Yes Mr. Stark?"

"It's Viscount Bernard Montgomery."

Those were his famous last words before the elevator doors closed. Tess cursed and wrote in the answer only to get it right. This was not her dream anniversary at all, but it was just one sacrifice that she had to make. As she rubbed her temples, she muttered to herself "One step at a time" over and over again until she continued her work once more.

_…_

_December 31, 2010 – 9:00pm_

The party was in full swing; the people around him were chatting him nonstop about what the New Year would bring their way. No matter how many ways they would phrase it, it was pretty clear they meant money. And this didn't bother Tony Stark one bit; he too wanted that. Money, parties, success, more adventures. This was the life and he knew his life was perfect.

As he moved through the sea of people, he saw Pepper chatting up with the date she had brought. This didn't bother him one bit, that's what he told himself. Especially when he had gone to Brown University, psh, it was no MIT. Nursing his brandy, something caught his eye through the glass door.

There was Bunny: he didn't quite remember her name after so many times of calling her Bunny. The way she was skittish, and always looked afraid of the world reminded him so much of the furry animal that he couldn't help but call her that. He knew that Brendan had called out saying that he would be taking a paid day off. He was more than happy to give the man much. But Bunny had stayed, and didn't even bother to ask for the day like everyone else. Instead she had stocked the bar full of alcohol, cleaned the penthouse, and made sure everyone had an invitation. He knew that it was because Pepper hadn't asked for the day and had worked her full shift that had kept her, the girl was loyal to Pepper.

Pepper in turn was very loyal to the girl herself. She spoke nothing but praises for the young lady and would constantly tell him she had potential for something great. She had better have, considering a Stark grant had been funding her classes recently. He pretended not to notice, but JARVIS had clearly explained it to him. Tony didn't mind, after all, the kid was alright.

At the moment she was packing up her things from her desk. She was out for the day it seemed. Something told him to go over there, just have a quick conversation with Bunny to see what she was up to. She seemed caught up in her world, putting that blue notebook in that satchel like she did every night. He didn't know what was in it, but he was a curious person and he couldn't help but wonder.

"Heading out are we?" He called out as he leaned against the frame.

As usual, she jumped and turned to look at him wide-eyed before relaxing slightly. She needed to work on her reflexes, at least in Tony's opinion. Soon her posture went to its normal stance and she smiled shyly at him. No matter how stressed she was, there was always a smile on her face, sometimes forced but never missing. He liked that in the kid.

"Did you need something Mr. Stark?"

"You didn't answer my question Bunny"

She lowered her gaze at his nickname for her and nodded.

"Yes Mr. Stark, I'm heading home"

"No plans for New Years? It's a great city to be in, why not ring in the New Year with a bang?"

She laughed softly and rubbed her arm nervously. "Well, Mr. Stark, I'll be heading home and watching the ball drop with my family and my boyfriend. Like I do every year"

"Boyfriend?" he repeated intrigued. "Whose your ball and chain? What does he do?"

She grinned and began to say a few things about her boyfriend. It was clear she cared for him, for whatever reason they were clearly monogamous. His career was boring from what Tony could guess. Either way, it seemed right for Bunny, a normal boyfriend for a boringly normal girl.

"Good for you Bunny. Now get out of here before we drag you in there"

"I'm only nineteen Mr. Stark, I'm not old enough to go drink"

"Right….so kids these days don't break the rules" he teased.

She shook her head and giggled.

" _I_  don't Mr. Stark. I like following the rules"

"JARVIS will take you home, just take the car there."

"But Mr. Stark-"

"You won't get home on time in this traffic. It's my gift to you for New Years"

"Mr. Stark….thank you" she said shyly.

"Oh and here!" Tony found himself taking out his checkbook and writing something quickly on it. As he ripped it from the leather-encased checkbook, he noticed her confusion. Handing it over he smiled brightly.

Tess didn't really know how to feel as he did this to her. Staring down at the check she couldn't help but re-read the amount. Five thousand? Why?

"W-why Mr. Stark?" she asked confused.

"You're a good kid, maybe it'll pay for a little thing here or there for you. Maybe a car?"

Her eyes watered in a way that made Tony uncomfortable. Tears in a woman's eyes weren't correlated to something good, but as the young girl launched herself on him and hugged him tightly, he figured that he hadn't done something terrible.

"You don't understand what this means Mr. Stark, this will help out my family so much" she murmured against his very expensive suit.

"Or you can spend it on yourself" he teased as he hugged her briefly before pulling back. "Maybe a few more dresses? Not that I like the yellow dress, but once a month is enough don't you think?"

She blushed hotly at his comment and nodded.

"P-perhaps something small for me"

"Here" another ripped check was sent her way. "Just to look a bit more…professional."

"I…. _Thank you_ " she breathed out. "You're amazing Mr. Stark"

As she looked at him excitedly, she gave him a thousand watt smile before rushing out. Somehow that grin had made him lose five thousand dollars.

"She's cute right?" Pepper said from behind him.

"Adorably so, remind me not to have my checkbook around her" he waved as he walked back to the party.

"There are worst things you could use your money on" she teased.

_An hour later…._

"Thank you JARVIS" she said softly to the voice in the car before rushing towards her house.

It was ten o' clock and JARVIS has magically avoided all traffic. She never knew what to expect from Mr. Stark, but he was definitely a good boss…well on certain days. At the moment all that mattered was her getting to her family as quick as possible. Opening the door to her house, she took a deep breath taking in all the smells coming from the kitchen. She knew that it was as going to be a good New Year. The volume was all the way up on the television as her brothers chatted over one another with their girlfriends around them, but as they heard the door click behind them, they all turned.

"You made it querida!" Her grandmother said relieved before pulling her into a hug.

Tess hummed in agreement before hugging her tightly. No amount of glamor or party that was at Mr. Starks home would live up to her family's get together. As they began to catch each other on their days, Tess walked towards the other room where her grandfather was reading a book. Of everyone, he was always the quiet one of them all. Knocking on the opened door, her grandfather looked up and smiled lovingly at his only granddaughter.

"Grandpa, I was let free" she laughed.

"That Mr. Stark didn't yell at you for leaving early?" he said already getting annoyed at the mention of the man.

"No papa" she laughed softly. "He actually gave me something for you guys. He said it was for the work I do"

As she took out the check and handed it to him, she could tell that he wasn't' expecting it. Looking at her once more he shook his head.

"We cannot possibly take this, it's too much. We don't need it"

"We do papa," she said frowning, "imagine what we could do with the shop. Maybe some new tools or something…Mr. Stark has money to throw around and he said it was just a little something for me. Please take it, it will help us out."

She knew his pride stopped him from immediately taking it, but she was going to make sure he did so. They needed it, money wasn't flowing in as much as they would like and it would help.

"One day, I'll pay him back for it " she said softly. "He's a good man"

"Ay, he is, but we are not a charity case"

"No, we're not." she replied before hugging her grandpa. "He said this was for  _my_ work, and  _I_ want this for you. Plus, it's just for now, one day I won't be under his salary"

He laughed then and hugged her. That moment was when she knew she had won him over.

"Tess! Benji is here" her grandmother called out.

"Go meet him, I'll be out in a minute" her grandfather murmured.

"I love you" she replied before rushing to meet her boyfriend.

As soon as they all greeted one another and caught up, they found themselves spending the rest of the night eating, laughing and singing along with the radio. It wasn't as spectacular or as glamorous as she saw at Stark Tower, but it was something that she loved. Leaning against her boyfriend as they watched the ball drop felt perfectly right. As he moved down to kiss her, she knew this was a good start for 2011.

Meanwhile, in Manhattan a Tony Stark took in the New Year with a bang, with fireworks, a fiery kiss and a quick romp in the sheets with a model. Two very different New Years indeed.

_….._

_February 14, 2011_

She had not seen Mr. Stark in a month. Claiming that he was tired with the cold, he had flown to his Malibu home and had given her paid leave for a month. She didn't exactly know how to feel about it, but as the checks came in and Pepper reassured her it was normal, Tess took it in stride.

With the money given by Mr. Stark, Tess had managed to do a lot with it. Her family updated the auto repair shop and hired more hands to help. It seemed that it had made a difference as more people were coming in. As for Tess herself, she had found that shopping came a long way with the money he had given her. She had bought herself a new coat, new snow boots, and all different outfits to make her feel more of a professional.

Working for Mr. Stark was a very unique experience. He was careless and caring at the same time. It made no sense to those that didn't work with the man but this was the case. He was careless in where his money went, he exaggerated the portions of food he would need for a party, he would procrastinate the documents that needed his signature, and he would blame others for his shortcomings. It annoyed Pepper to no end, and in turn it annoyed Tess. There were many times she was yelled at for things he forgot to sign and in turn she never mailed out.

But then the other side of the coin came in his philanthropy work. He funded her educational endeavors (all thanks to Pepper) but she had a feeling he knew all about it. He always asked questions about his older employees' families and how they were. He remembered the most useless information about a person, yet forgot their birthdays. This man was an enigma that caused her to admire him all the more.

Today he had asked her to come in. It seemed that he had been there for two weeks and had locked himself in his office working on something that she had no clue over what. But Pepper had been given vacation with her boyfriend thus making Tess stuck with him.

_Flashback…_

"Mmm…Hello?" a half-asleep Tess answered.

_"Oh did I wake you Bunny?"_

It took her a while to realize who it was and she immediately shot up on her bed.

"Mr. Stark! Good Morning! I-I didn't know you had been back. Did you need anything?"

_"Did the bed sheets get stuck or something? Did you forget?"_

"Forget?"

_"I needed you to come in today. I told you that Pepper is gone so I need you to take her place while she's gone. Jeesh Bunny, didn't know you don't listen."_

"Mr. Stark, I haven't heard from you since last month when you decided to head back to Malibu?"

_"Did I do that thing when I thought I told you but didn't?"_

"Yes Mr. Stark."

_"Ah….well sorry about that Bunny. Can you come in? I….YES I'm on the phone!"_ he cleared his throat before starting to whisper once more.  _"I might need you assistance on…something"_

Tess winced already imagining what this meant. Pepper had told her stories of his tendencies to not be good at saying bye to these women. She sighed.

_"There's only so much hiding I can do now Bunny. Hurry up!"_

"Yes Mr. Stark"

As he hung up, Tess aloud herself to actually complain, it was one of those days that Mr. Stark had a pretend conversation about his plans. She hated when he did that. She was half tempted to call Miss Potts and beg her to come back. She began to dial, that is until she remembered how tired Miss Potts looked after working a long night. Sighing, she ended the call; it wasn't worth bothering her.

Rolling out of bed she forced herself into a pair of jet-black pants and a red blouse with a black lace top underneath. She wasn't going to bother with any dresses or anything that kept her from getting to Mr. Stark. She threw a pair of heels in her backpack and slapped on her pair of tennis shoes before rushing out of the house. She was in the middle of attempting to button her blouse, and at the same time trying to shut the door, when she looked up for a moment to see a black car. It was when she relaxed; JARVIS was driving, meaning she had enough time to prep herself.

As she opened the door, a voice caught her attention.

"Tess! Hold up!" She was surprised to see her boyfriend rushing over to her.

She noticed that he took notice of her outfit. Her hair was curled down, she was half naked rushing into a black car without even thinking about him. He was a bit annoyed; she could tell by the way his face scrunched.

"Where are you going?" he said trying to take a peek into the car.

"To work?" she said confused.

She was a bit frustrated herself at the fact he was interrupted her getaway. She had one foot in the car, yet her hands firmly on the car door. It was clear that this was not the response he was expecting.

"Whose car is that? Why are you going?"

"Oh Mr. Stark sent JARVIS to pick me up. He wanted me in early."

"And you're going?"

She tilted her head confused at his comment.

"Of course I am, he called me. It's my job" she murmured.

"Oh….I see…" this was not the tone she was expecting. He sounded very bitter and she knew he was biting back a witty retort.

"Did you need something?" she asked.

"No, no" he shook his head, "Just…nothing…are you coming back late?"

"I don't know" she replied honestly.

He didn't even bother giving her a goodbye kiss or any sort of farewell. She froze for a second wondering what went wrong. She almost called out to him, that is until that familiar voice interrupted her actions.

"Miss Holmes, Mr. Stark is waiting for you"

She nodded and slid into the car. This wasn't the time to think about her personal life, she had a job to do, and this was not going to wait any longer. As she closed the car behind her and it took off, she began to talk to him more casually, forgetting about Benjamin in just a few moments.

"Good Morning JARVIS, I wasn't expecting you here" she commented while attempting to put on makeup. Thankfully, the machine had enough decency to slide a mirror down allowing her a better look. As she began to put on her makeup JARVIS began the quickest route to the building.

Once they reached it, she managed to look acceptable enough, she slid out of the car and immediately walked through the halls of Stark Towers. Her heels clacked loudly down the nicely tiled floor. She greeted the doormen, and slid her security key on the reader before sliding up the elevator. Reaching the penthouse, she quickly, put in the passcode before the doors of his private penthouse opened.

She had only been there during her orientation with Miss Potts and it had been spotless. This was not what she saw the moment she walked in. For one thing, clothes were thrown everywhere, empty alcohol bottles were casually tipped over and she knew this was a mess she would have to clean up. Sighing she already felt a headache rising.

"Might as well start," she murmured softly to herself before taking out a trash bag and beginning to clean.

This was disgusting, and a bit humiliating if she was honest with herself. If her grandmother had found out about the things she was doing at work, she would have pulled her out of it.

"Oh I didn't know he had a cleaning lady"

That stopped Tess right in her tracks, turning around she noticed a blonde in a burgundy top staring at her amused. She immediately noticed that the woman was tall, around 5'9, had long beautiful hair that looked like gold, even bed hair seemed to fall in place. It was almost insulting how beautiful this woman was. But as her green eyes judged Tess, she knew immediately she hated her.

"He does, her name is Liza, and she comes in every Thursday."

"Then what are you his, wipe off girl?"

The snap in the woman's tone made Tess drop all the things on the ground. She was rarely angry but at that moment she was so embarrassed to be there. Where the hell was Mr. Stark?! Had he just left her to clean his place?

"Mr. Stark would not like it if you spoke to Miss Holmes that way" JARVIS' voice rung out the room.

Tess felt a brief moment of relief realizing that she wasn't totally alone. JARVIS might be a machine, but in all honesty she had grown to like him like a friend that she enjoyed talking to. She had so many questions about artificial life and how Mr. Stark managed with JARVIS.

It was clear that her job was to kick her out. Taking a deep breath she took the moment of confusion to make the woman realize what she was here for.

"Mr. Stark has asked me to clean up, that includes you Miss…"

"Braxton" she hissed angrily already realizing where this was going. "And I'm not going, my things aren't ready"

"Actually they are" JARVIS replied having a robot hand her the clothing from the previous night.

"Everything you need is there, along with a complimentary gift card from American Express to get yourself something nice. Please have a nice day"

Before the woman began to curse at her, JARVIS began to blow the wind towards the woman, pushing her out the door. Tess was shaking in nerves over what she had done.

"Not bad"

She turned to see Mr. Stark popping his head into the living room, checking if the coat was clear. She glared at the older man at how cowardly he was at the moment.

"I want a raise Mr. Stark" she blurted out. "This is not in my job description"

"First thing you said? Done" he walked into the room in a casual Rolling Stones shirt, and a pair of dirty jeans, "for the second thing, I disagree. If you work with Pepper things carry over to you, and you know that"

"….I'm not cleaning this up" she added trying not to pout.

But he just shrugged not really minding it.

"That's fine, I just needed you for that, you can go home I guess? I'll be downstairs working on something."

She almost wanted to take him up on that offer that is until she realized this was her moment. The thought of having some time to actually see his work, work that she admired…. well she could at least ask.

"Mr. Stark? May I…may I see your lab?"

That wasn't what he was expecting, it was clear from the way he turned around to face her. He seemed curious as to what she wanted, was this actually for interest? Or was she being nosy?

"Why?"

"Well…" she flushed slightly, "I am a fan, and well, um…I read your article on MIT Technology Review, about your thought about going into renewable energy, and I read about how you took interest in using the same science for weapons of war to do more humanitarian work. I find that astounding considering that the debris in weapons, could potentially end the wars of course, but more importantly find different outlets in growing from the casualties. In fact I-"

"You read the MIT Technology Review?" was all he got from that rant of hers.

She merely nodded shyly.

"You build?"

"Sometimes" she replied, looking away. "I-uh, most of the things I try and build are from an auto shop, I don't have the resources to be honest"

When he said nothing for a few minutes, she had feared that he had either tuned out or basically deemed her unworthy of going into his workshop. Taking a deep breath she figured she could pretend that the conversation never happened, turning to face him, she realized he was gone.

"Aren't you coming?" He popped his head back in and grinned.

"O-oh yes!"

Rushing over to catch up she couldn't believe that she had her shot at making an impression. She grabbed her bag tightly, unwilling to let it go, as they went up the elevator and towards his workspace. Walking into his lab, she never really knew what to expect, but the moment he lead her to the large space, she knew that this was her Disneyland. The lights appeared to shoot from the machines and JARVIS began to throw dating onto the screens as more things began to come to life.

"Wow" she breathed out.

"I know" he said cockily.

Turning to look at him, it was clear that she was so appreciative. He knew he had done the right thing by letting her come to his sanctuary. Piper was usually the only one allowed in, but something told him that Bunny had something under her sleeves.

"So…what's in that bag that you're holding so tightly?" he asked curiously.


End file.
